GLA Energy Efficiency

Tony Devenish: What actions are you taking to show you are “walking the walk, not just talking the talk” to boost energy efficiency and minimise light pollution from City Hall and other GLA-owned sites?

The Mayor: In order to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies, I have set a target for London to become net-zero carbon by 2030. Saving energy on the GLA estate will be critical to this. I have also worked with the GLA Group to deliver energy-efficiency measures across their estates, as I outlined in Mayor’s Question 2022/3486,2022/0983and2022/0984.
City Hall was rated ‘Outstanding’ by BREEAM when first built, and has since been refurbished and made even greener. It generates its own renewable heat and power, and its modern controls minimise energy usage. Most of the lights at City Hall are LED and the remaining will be replaced with LED lights soon too. The office areas and meetings rooms have local sensors with timer to reduce lighting pollution. The perimeter lighting around City Hall also operates by day light sensors. Procedures are also in place to turn public lights off outside of event hours.

TMRW and Croydon Council

Hina Bokhari: Director of Tech Leaders Club Limited which runs TMRW, a co-working space in a building owned by Croydon Council, faces insolvency. With 30+ SMEs facing the loss of their place of business, will you use your influence to encourage Croydon Council to work constructively and agree a settlement of outstanding rent and rates liabilities that would enable the business to come under new ownership, and avoid any operational disruption to its users, suppliers and employees?

The Mayor: My regeneration team is discussing this issue with Croydon Council; and will explore any options for the council to support their small business tenants.

Investment Zones

Joanne McCartney: How can you ensure the Government’s new investment zones do not rip up London Plan safeguards, such as around affordable housing, and cut local residents out of decision making?

The Mayor: The Government has changed its position on Investment Zones in and we are seeking urgent clarification about how this will impact London.
In London’s Expression of Interest, I advised the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities I would not agree to an as-yet undefined streamlined planning regime, or proposals that would water down the London Plan’s objectives for the environment, affordable housing and the protection of Strategic Industrial Land.

Business Energy Efficiency (1)

Tony Devenish: Due to cost of living and climate concerns will you call on London businesses to turn off their lights and lower their heating between the hours of 10pm-7am? Will you use your TfL footprint to really drive a public information campaign?

The Mayor: London has a unique ecosystem of businesses and a 24-hour economy A blanket call to turn off lighting is not the right thing for our city. Businesses are bearing the consequences of a decade of government inaction on energy efficiency- the Chancellor’s target and announcement of £6.6 billion for energy efficiency does not go far enough.
My Retrofit Call to Action calls on businesses to make their workplaces net-zero carbon by 2030. My Business Climate Challenge is currently running and supports businesses to reduce energy consumption and bills by providing tailored recommendations and technical advice - including on timing of building services like heating and lighting. 2021 participants could save an average of 16% of their energy consumption.
I also provide guidance for businesses on my London Business Hub which has launched a Cost of Doing Business hub - with information on energy bill support and other resources such as Quick Win actions to reduce energy usage.

Gold Award for Nursery

Krupesh Hirani: Bright Little Stars nursery in my Harrow constituencyhas achieved the prestigiousGoldaward in Healthy Early Years London, an awards scheme funded by the Mayor. Please outline how much of an achievement this is.

The Mayor: Many congratulations to Bright Little Stars on receiving a Gold Healthy Early Years London award. As one of the first nurseries in Harrow to achieve this, they should be very proud of their hard work and commitment to improving children’s health. As one of the first nurseries in Harrow to achieve this, they should be very proud of their hard work and commitment to improving children’s health.
Whilst continuing their work on children’s speech and language skills, following receipt of the Bronze and Silver awards, Bright Little Stars Harrow focused on children's oral health, starting a toothbrushing scheme and working with the Dental Wellness trust. Good oral health is essential to children's physical, social, educational and psychological well-being.
I am committed to reducing child health inequalities across London and I am delighted that over 2,240 early years providers are now registered with the programme. The next steps for Bright Little Stars will be to share their approach and learning across the early years sector in Harrow growing the capability of the sector to reduce health inequalities.

Energy Rules & Office Spaces

Tony Devenish: With property equivalent to the size of 48 Gherkin skyscrapers unable to be rented out from 1st April 2023, what are you doing to publicise this cost of living energy ticking time bomb for London business?

The Mayor: We welcome the introduction of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for commercial buildings as an important mechanism to help drive energy efficiency in the sector; but I call on government to provide the financial support that property owners will need to meet these regulations.
I continue to work with our business partners and networks to talk about the importance of energy efficient buildings and support energy efficiency improvementsin the commercial sector, through programmes such as my Business Climate Challenge that helps address the climate and cost of doing business crisis.

New Year’s Eve celebrations

Marina Ahmad: What impact do the New Year’s Eve celebrations have on London’s economy? Are you able to break this down for each year that they have occurred in your Mayoralty?

The Mayor: The London New Year’s Eve celebrations are one of the biggest nights of the year for our capital’s hospitality industry and an unforgettable moment when the eyes of the world turn to our city.
The economic benefits as a result of the event itself are considerable. Data collected at the last live audience NYE event (2019) found that the average spend of attendees and visitors to London on New Year’s Eve was £196. Taking into consideration ticket sales of 100,000 the impact on the local economy is estimated to therefore be £19.6 million. In addition, the national and worldwide coverage of the event brings significant media value and promotion of London. Each year the event is watched on BBC TV and other media by an audience of more than 12 million, and by many more across the globe. It also acts as a great showcase and incentive for visitors who book to visit our great city at other times of the year.
The past two years have seen very different events without live audience’s, so the impact on the local economy are harder to accurately quantify however the promotion and media impact of these events remain a clear benefit.

Solar Together London Scheme (1)

Hina Bokhari: What is the average amount of time between when a household applies to the Solar Together London Scheme, to when solar panels are fully installed?

The Mayor: Solar Together London typically aims to complete installations within six or seven months of households accepting their contract. The terms and conditions of the contract include provision for a longer period of time between acceptance and installation for circumstances outside of the installer’s control. For phase four of the programme, 56 per cent of households had installations within 12 months, 21 per cent within 13-15 months and the remainder will be installed within 16 to 18 months..
Supply chain disruption because of Covid-19 and Brexit coupled with high customer demand for solar across the UK has resulted in a scarcity of materials. This continues to significantly impact phase five of Solar Together London. Despite this, 25 per cent of households have received installations within six months of receiving their offer.

Met skills gaps

Susan Hall: What skills gaps have been identified by the Met and what work is being undertaken to address them?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is focussing on the following skill areas:

Tourism in London

Marina Ahmad: Research published in the Evening Standard has found that London came second to Paris as the most popular booked destination this year. What impact has international tourism had on the capital this year, and how will you continue to build on this work for next year, especially around the King’s coronation?

The Mayor: Our tourism and hospitality sectors have had an incredibly difficult few years due to the impact of the pandemic, so it’s great to see international visitors returning to London.
My international ‘Let’s do London’ tourism campaign, was created specifically to encourage visitors from overseas to return back to the capital. It has so far helped to bring in £289m additional spending to London and is estimated to be bringing 600,000 additional visitors to the capital.
The King’s coronation in 2023 is a unique moment when the eyes of the world will be on our capital. London & Partners are working on how to convert this interest into visits and build on the success of this year’s Lets do London campaign. I will continue to bang the drum for our capital and support the return of international visitors to London.

999 Response Times (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Further to Question No 2022/3397, please give the longest response time for an S Grade incident in each month from August 2021 to August 2022 for Borough Commands in Barking and Dagenham, Enfield, Havering, Merton, Redbridge and Southwark.

The Mayor: Please note, that many the incidents listed are shown as resolved by scheduled appointment. When the original call was taken, this would have been correctly graded as “S Grade” and passed for deployment. However, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) advises that when circumstances change such as no unit being available, the incident circumstances evolving, or the victim’s wishes changing, these can be dealt with via appointment. The call grading will not change if this occurs after the 1-hour window, so as to not impact compliance figures relating to response times. The incident remains open until it has been suitably resolved.

The Mayor: 3868 table.pdf

Alleviating in-work poverty in London (5)

Marina Ahmad: Have you made an assessment of where London ranks compared to other major world cities in terms of levels of in-work poverty?

The Mayor: No, lack of easily available comparative data makes this extremely difficult. Any such assessment would be complicated by different definitions of in-work poverty used internationally and data being collected nationally rather than on a city-basis.
However, it is well established that the cost of living in the capital is high relative to other cities in the UK. This is the underlying principle of the London Living Wage, which is independently calculated to reflect the true cost-of-living in London.
I am clear that it is unacceptable that a Londoner can be in employment, yet unable to meet the cost of living. I call on all employers to pay at least the London Living Wage to their employees.

Drugs Commission

Caroline Russell: Thank you for your answer to my question 2022/3593, in which you said the Drugs Commission is: “now finalising the recruitment of two Deputy Chairs and an Expert Reference Group” and that once is this is done: “a web page will be created”. When will the Deputy Commissioners and Expert Reference Group be appointed, and when will the web page be launched?

The Mayor: https://www.london.gov.uk/london-drugs-commission

Alleviating in-work poverty in London (3)

Marina Ahmad: Do you have an update on the extent of in-work poverty in London’s public sector, including in the Greater London Authority? What measures are being taken to ensure drivers of in-work poverty, such as low pay, insufficient hours, and outsourcing are minimised throughout the public sector workforce in London?

The Mayor: I am deeply concerned about high rates of in-work poverty in London. Data on this across the public sector is not available. But it is clear that - faced with a cost of living and energy crisis this winter - too many hard-working Londoners in our public sector are struggling to make ends meet.
This is one area of focus for members of the London Anchor Institutions’ Network, which we convene from City Hall, and which brings together anchor institutions across the city to drive social and economic benefit for Londoners through their recruitment, procurement and estates management capacity.
I also continue to promote the London Living Wage. I recently for example wrote jointly with the Regional Director for NHS London, Andrew Ridley, to all London NHS Trusts urging them to gain Living Wage accreditation. We are already seeing real public sector progress in this area and I am delighted that 14 NHS Trusts in London have so far achieved London Living Wage Accreditation.

Alleviating in-work poverty in London (4)

Marina Ahmad: Have you taken any steps to ensure that London businesses are encouraged to disclose data on (a) how many employees are in in-work poverty and,
(b) the employment status of all employees?

The Mayor: Employers do not routinely collect or publish data on in-work poverty in their workforce. However, my Good Work Standard encourages employers to publish executive pay ratios, gender, disability and ethnicity pay gaps, and address disability pay gaps. In addition, I also encourage London businesses to make their pay levels and bands accessible and transparent, and to only use non-standard contracts when they are beneficial for both the worker and employer.
The Good Work Standard also outlines the importance of employers providing the same contractual rights to part-time and fixed term workers as permanent full-time employees. Providing a range of staff benefits, interest-free loans, and signposting to financial wellbeing resources to help with living and housing costs, are all crucial in addressing in-work poverty.

Multiple misconduct claims

Caroline Russell: How many Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers are currently facing multiple misconduct claims? Could you provide this in a table grouped by number of claims?

The Mayor: As at 10 November 2022, there are 142 serving Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers with multiple 'live' conduct matter cases.
Number of live cases
2
3
4
5
20
Total
No of officers
114
19
5
3
1
142
There are a further 19 former (either dismissed or retired/resigned) officers with multiple 'live' conduct matter cases.
Number of live cases
2
3
4
10
Total
No of officers
12
3
3
1
19
When an officer is subject to five or more live conduct cases, the MPS Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) review the cases to ensure they are being dealt with together, where the conduct regulations allow.

Investment Zones (2)

Sakina Sheikh: What impact would a London based Investment Zone have on the wider capital?

The Mayor: The six Investment Zones I originally proposed to the Government could have collectively hosted over 2.6 million m2 of new commercial development, over 138,000 new jobs and over 80,000 new homes.
However, in a very short space of time the Government changed its position, and we are now seeking urgent clarification about how this will impact London.
The original Investment Zone intervention included a variety of tax, regulatory innovations and flexibilities, and planning simplifications aimed at attracting investment and accelerating commercial and residential development. The tax offer might have generated benefits to London, were a long-term business rate retention scheme adopted.

Investment Zones (3)

Sakina Sheikh: Will you be lobbying the Government to stop these Investment Zones from proceeding? Or do you believe they could be a force for good in the capital?

The Mayor: The Government has changed its position on Investment Zones, only two months after announcing them, and we are now seeking urgent clarification about how this will impact London.
The tax offer of Investment Zones outlined in the original guidance published by the Government could have generated significant benefits to London, particularly through a long-term business rate retention scheme. In addition, the six London Investment Zones I proposed to the Government in London’s EoI, could have collectively hosted over 2.6 million m2 of new commercial development, over 138,000 new jobs and over 80,000 new homes.
With the risks to the planning system in mind, I advised the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities I would not be willing to agree any proposals that would water down the London Plan’s objectives for the environment, affordable housing, or the protection of Strategic Industrial Land.

Electric & Hydrogen Police Vehicles

Leonie Cooper: Can you please provide a year-by-year breakdown of the number of fully electric and hydrogen vehicles operated by the Metropolitan Police over the last 5 years?

The Mayor: The table below outlines the number of fully electric and hydrogen vehicles operated by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), as well as the number of hybrid vehicles.
The electric and hydrogen vehicles are operated in general purpose roles, and under trials as emergency response vehicles. The volumes in these categories fell at the end of 2021 due to the vehicles being written off due to collisions.
Year
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Number of Electric Vehicles
61
110
131
139
137
Number of Hydrogen vehicles
11
21
21
21
20
Number of Hybrid Vehicles
40
181
486
545
645

Living Wage Week 2022

Marina Ahmad: How will you be celebrating Living Wage Week 2022 in London?

The Mayor: Living Wage Week from 14-18 November 2022 is an important celebration of the successes of the Living Wage campaign in London over the previous year and chance to encourage more employers to accredit.
This year, I am proud to be Co-Chair of the Making London a Living Wage City steering committee, which has launched an Action Plan setting out a how the programme’s goals will be met across various work strands, which focus on low pay sectors like health and social care, the cultural and creative industries, hospitality and service provision, and night-time work.
My officers will continue to work closely with the Living Wage Foundation, employers, workers and community groups to make London a Living Wage City by 2024.

Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (3)

Leonie Cooper: How are you supporting councils to ensure they have the talent to spend the funding available through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund?

The Mayor: In recognition of the success of my Retrofit Accelerator – Homes programme I was awarded funding from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to set up and manage the first year of the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator (SHRA).
SHRA provides support to social housing providers across England to help them bid into the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). The support was intended to help organisations successfully bid for and deploy SHDF funding. Following my successful delivery of this programme it is now being delivered directly by BEIS and this support continues.
More widely the Mayor’s Green Skills Academy launched this year is providing training in areas such as retrofit, renewable energy and green spaces, supporting 2,800 learners into good jobs and 4,665 Londoners with new training and learning. MQ’s 2022/3898, 2022/4204, 2023/4205, 2022/4206 and 2022/4207 also provide further details of how I am supporting retrofit supply chains.

Thames Water Drinking Fountain (1)

Emma Best: Will there be further funding made available for the installation of more Thames Water drinking fountains and if not, why?

The Mayor: To help Londoners ditch single-use plastic bottles and reduce plastic waste, I partnered with Thames Water to install a network of 110 drinking fountains in busy areas across the capital. I’m delighted that the programme was successfully completed this summer, achieving my London Environment Strategy and Manifesto commitments.
In line with completing the programme this summer, the funding agreement with Thames Water also ended. Therefore, to extend the programme a new procurement process and agreement with Thames Water or other water utility provider would be required.
To further support this work I partnered with City to Sea to deliver the Refill London campaign, a water refill scheme where people can go into shops and businesses and ask for a free water refill instead of buying one. There are now over 4,400 refill points across the city, up from approximately 200 when the programme started in March 2018.

MPS Forensic Collision Investigators

Caroline Russell: How many Forensic Collision Investigators (FCIs) do the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) currently employ? How many vacant posts are there and how long have these been carried?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) currently has 12 accredited frontline Forensic Collision Investigators (FCIs), 10 trainees and 9 students. These are made up of both Police Officer and Civilian staff posts.
There are currently 5 vacant PC posts and no vacant civilian posts. These posts have been vacant for upwards of 24 months. A total of 6 Police Constables (PCs) were recruited this year.

Unlicensed Shisha Bars (1)

Hina Bokhari: Are you aware of the growing issue surrounding unlicensed shisha bars in boroughs such as Brent and Ealing, which have become a hub for anti-social behaviour and gang-related violence?

The Mayor: Shisha bars do not require a licence to trade solely for sale and consumption of Shisha. Licensing is required when other associated licensable activities such as sale of alcohol are undertaken. Any breaches of ‘smoke free regulations’ would normally be dealt with by the Local Authority. Shisha bars do not have a specific police venue ‘flag’ so identifying breakdowns of crime by venue type would be difficult but may be captured under ASB or other flags. Gang related violence has only been attributed to the general areas nearby and not directly linked to any individual premises.
Shisha bar related anti-social behaviour (ASB) increased during the summer months. Targeted early hours ASB patrols were carried out to address this, using ASB powers where appropriate. In Brent and Ealing, there has been successful partnership work with Local Authorities in relation to this, resulting in several closure orders.

Alleviating in-work poverty in London (1)

Marina Ahmad: Are you aware of the findings of the report from the Social Market Foundation entitled “Working lives”, and do you agree with its assessment that businesses have a key role to play in alleviating in-work poverty in London?

The Mayor: I welcome the Social Market Foundation’s report and their focus on addressing in-work poverty, I agree that businesses have an important role to play in alleviating in-work poverty.
The most tangible way businesses can work towards this is by accrediting as Living Wage and Good Work Standard employers, actively addressing pay gaps, and ensuring workers can develop skills and experience to progress to higher paid roles. My officers are working closely with SMF to share expertise and develop our respective responses to in-work poverty, good work, and the living wage.

Promoting black businesses

Hina Bokhari: What specifically are you doing to highlight the successes of black-owned businesses?

The Mayor: To highlight the success of diverse entrepreneurs, we produce case studies that are hosted on the London Business Hub website and promoted throughout social channels. These case studies demonstrate how diverse entrepreneurs successfully contribute to London’s economy. These case studies of diverse business owners are also an inspiration for other businesses and entrepreneurs starting and growing their enterprises.
In the next few weeks my officers will commission a new set of video case studies that will focus on my Investment Ready Programme which targeted minority owned businesses to raise finance. These will also be promoted via social media to inspire other entrepreneurs and highlight the success of black-owned businesses.

Support to operators/flexible workspace (5)

Neil Garratt: Can you please provide a spending breakdown of all items attached to MD3005?

The Mayor: Budgets have been identified for two initiatives thus far:
Firstly, £130,000 is allocated for support, advice and guidance to affordable workspaces operators. This programme will provide free advice and guidance on topics such as business rates, negotiating premises with landlords; attracting new businesses; identifying more efficient membership models. These free sessions will be offered exclusively to affordable workspace operators.
Secondly, £15,000 is allocated to follow-up work published in 2020 about the Modelling of empty premises in high streets converting to flexible workspaces This second phase will provide further practical examples of how premises have converted into flexible/affordable spaces for local businesses.
The rest of the budget has not yet been allocated. My officers will identify over the coming months how best to maximise the budgets for the other initiatives and prioritise them according to needs of the sector. All initiatives will be procured via open and competitive processes.

Support to operators/flexible workspace (4)

Neil Garratt: Within Mayoral decision MD3005 there was sign-off of £200,000 of taxpayer money to partly go towards the flexible workspaces map. Has funding not already been allocated to the map as well as its bi-annual updates prior to this decision?

The Mayor: The workspace map allows businesses of all sizes, to search for the right premises for their needs. The map currently contains over 500 flexible workspaces in the capital, including creative and cultural studios and spaces.
The flexible workspace sector continues to grow and the Covid pandemic and new ways of working have accelerated its growth. Demand for office space is changing and many developers are bringing forward new flexible workspaces.
This element of the Workspace programme will commission an organisation to identify and categorise new flexible workspaces so they can be added to the map. Spaces that have closed down will also be identified and removed.
This will ensure the workspace map remains up to date and useful to businesses.

Police Volunteers 1

Nick Rogers: For each of the following, what is the average length of the Met application process?

• Police Support Volunteers
• Employer Supported Policing
• Community Based Volunteers

The Mayor: Met Police Volunteers, office-based and non-operational roles, can take up to six months to join whilst they undergo vetting and reference checks.
Employer Supported Policing (ESP) is a partnership programme that encourages employers to provide their staff with time off to become Special Constables. Special Constables are volunteer police officers, it can take upwards of 6 months to complete vetting, reference checks as well as training.
It takes approximately a month to complete the checks, training and induction to become a Community Based Volunteer.

Support to operators/flexible workspace (6)

Neil Garratt: Can you please be more specific when you state: “A minimum of 200 affordable workspaces receiving support, advice, and guidance on a range of topics to ensure their spaces maximise their economic and social opportunities.” How do you intend to meet the quoted criteria? This is regards Mayoral decision MD3005.

The Mayor: This project will contract through an open and competitive tender process with an organisation that will deliver webinars, face to face and 1-2-1 sessions to support operators of affordable workspaces on topics like business rates, accreditation and marketing.
These operators will be recruited through contact with boroughs and using the GLA’s database of over 700 flexible workspaces – so the target is just over a quarter of workspaces on the database.

Support to operators/flexible workspace (1)

Neil Garratt: Your recent decision MD3005/Support to operators of affordable, flexible workspace mentions a net-zero aim. Can you please elaborate on how part of the £200,000 allocated to this scheme will achieve a net-zero element?

The Mayor: My Economic Development and Environment teams will work together to identify operators of affordable workspaces that want make their buildings net-zero.
Operators and users of workspace will receive tailored advice, guidance, and training on how to make their buildings carbon neutral. To maximise the number of buildings that benefit from the advice and training, information will be recorded in videos, podcasts and fact sheets and promoted among London-based workspaces.

Support to operators/flexible workspace (3)

Neil Garratt: With regard to your support to operators of affordable, flexible workspace decision, can you please elaborate on what “accreditation and social value” is?

The Mayor: Many London non-for-profit flexible workspaces are community focused and provide space to micro and small businesses at affordable rates. These spaces provide a social value to their business community and sometimes to their immediate neighbourhood.
During the pandemic, the GLA piloted a scheme which measured, recognised and rewarded workspaces which focused on community and economic value. The project measured affordability, business support provision, community impact and responsible business practice, such as promotion of the London Living Wage.
This helped workspace providers offer a better service to their tenants. The project also provided useful information for policy makers and grant givers on keeping London’s workspaces open and affordable for SMEs and start-ups.

Support to operators/flexible workspace (2)

Neil Garratt: One of the hoped-for outcomes for the support to operators of affordable, flexible workspace scheme is to simply produce leaflets. Can you please elaborate on how that will help create more shared creative spaces?

The Mayor: The ‘Support to operators of flexible and affordable workspaces’ programme will provide free advice and guidance on topics like business rates, accreditation and social value, negotiating leases, and marketing and positioning workspace to attract new businesses.
Other topics and training sessions will be included depending on demand and needs.
The expected outputs for this project include: 1) a minimum of 200 affordable workspaces and 15 local authorities participating in the project 2) a minimum of 15 workspaces demonstrating their affordability and complying with the GLA’s criteria.

3D printed guns

Susan Hall: For each year Nov 2019 to Oct 2020, Nov 2020 to Oct 2021 and Nov 2021 to Oct 2022 how many 3D printed guns were detected by the Met?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have advised me that there have been no fully functioning 3D printed firearm recoveries made - only 3D printed firearm component parts. The first successful 3D printed gun conviction was obtained in 2019, from a seizure made in 2017.
Nov 2019 – Oct 2020
No (0) 3D printed gun related recoveries were made within the MPS.
Nov 2020 – Oct 2021
Two (2) 3D printed gun related recoveries were made within the MPS and submitted to the MPS Forensic Firearms Unit (MPSFFU).
Nov 2021 – Oct 2022
Two (2) 3D printed gun related recoveries, most recently in October, were made within the MPS and submitted to the MPSFFU.

Workers’ rights

Marina Ahmad: How are you supporting London’s workers to achieve and maintain good pay and working conditions as the cost of living increases this winter, affecting employers?

The Mayor: The cost-of-living and energy crises this winter will present significant financial challenges for many families in London, even for those in work. I continue to promote the London Living Wage, and better employment conditions for Londoners through my Good Work Standard. I call all on employers to consider how they can support their employees by accrediting to these programmes.
Londoners can seek advice on their rights at work via my Employment Rights Hub, with further resources on the Cost of Living Hub on the GLA website.

London’s productivity

Marina Ahmad: What are you doing to increase London’s productivity?

The Mayor: Evidence produced for the London Industrial Strategy concludes that Mayoral programmes like investments from the adult education budget, the foreign direct investment and export focussed activity of London and Partners, and efforts to improve transport and digital connectivity all have a positive influence on productivity.
But it also shows that investments in innovation and research and development might be a more effective strategy to increase living standards, rather than focusing on productivity alone; as innovative firms pay comparatively higher wages, including in mid-skilled roles.
I will use London’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to invest in innovation, including supporting the development and adoption of existing technologies, improvements in business management and leadership practices, supporting greater investment in R&D, investing in skills, and fostering collaborations. ​These investments should have a positive impact on London’s productivity and promote growth in highly productive sectors such as life sciences, digital/tech, creative industries and the green economy.

Recession 2022

Marina Ahmad: How do you intend to support businesses and Londoners through the longest recession since the 1930s?

The Mayor: The Government’s failed economic policies have exacerbated the cost of living and energy crises and, even with the proposals in its recent Autumn Statement, it is still not taking the basic steps required to help Londoners and businesses who need the most support.
Through my annual Adult Education Budget of £320m, my £44m Academies and £18.9m Skills Bootcamps programmes, we’re investing in training to upskill Londoners to access good jobs.
Through London’s share of the £144m UK Shared Prosperity Fund, I’ve allocated funds for boroughs to support local businesses and regenerate communities. I will invest in projects that help to grow local businesses and support Londoners into training and work.
I have also invested an additional £3.7m to provide a new online Cost of Living Hub and Energy Advice service, my Warmer Homes fuel poverty programme and investment to support private renters, the homeless and to tackle food insecurity.
My London Business Hub signposts to free services to help businesses at this challenging time.

London Chamber of Commerce

Tony Devenish: The London Chamber of Commerce ‘Capital 500 economic survey for Q3 2022’ report has identified positive news from exports to investment. What discussions have you had with the London Chamber of Commerce on how your office can best support business growth in London?

The Mayor: I, my Deputy Mayor for Business and officers regularly engage with London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) both bilaterally and through the London Recovery Board, London Covid Business Forum, Skills for Londoners Business Partnership and policy work on economic development, skills and Net Zero.
In particular, we are working closely with LCCI and other business groups who were successfully awarded London’s Local Skills Improvement Plan funding. The plan will align skills education to local labour market needs and provide an employer view of the skills most needed to support economic growth in London.
I and my office will continue to work closely with LCCI to support the business community in the best interests of London’s economy and the whole country.

Rate of strip search in MPS custody suites

Caroline Russell: Could you share the number of detentions and the number of strip searches carried out in custody suites in London since 2016? Could you provide this in table format broken down by year and custody suite, along with age, race and gender?

The Mayor: In response to a recent FOI request, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) provided data on strip searches carried out in custody suites broken down by custody suite, gender, age, ethnicity and offence group: https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/metropolitan-police/disclosure_2022/october_2022/data-for-custody-detentions-and-related-strip-searches-from-april-2017-to-march-20222
Additionally, detailed data on strip searches carried out in custody suites is also published in the MPS Custody Dashboard: Custody Dashboard | Tableau Public. The data is also uploaded to the London data store - https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/custody--arrests--disposals--strip-searches-

Compass Group

Tony Devenish: Given your responsibility to support London’s economy, will you investigate Compass Group’s reported scheme to offer to merge any high interest rate debts of their 50,000, mainly modest waged UK staff, and in your view is this approach more widely applicable?

The Mayor: I am supportive of any steps employers can take to alleviate the burden of debt on their employees and promote financial well-being, starting with paying a Living Wage.
My Good Work Standard encourages employers to offer debt, money and savings advice services to workers, signposting to relevant organisations who offer specialised advice, such as Credit Unions. They should also offer a range of employee benefits that help workers make their pay packets go further, such as discounts at local retailers or interest-free loans for housing and travel costs.
These approaches are applicable across London’s economy. Over 240,000 Londoners now work for a Good Work Standard employer, for 113 employers across a wide range of sectors. I call on all employers to pursue accreditation.

Sustainable Hospitality

Leonie Cooper: How are you supporting the hospitality industry to be more sustainable to the environment?

The Mayor: I am committed to supporting businesses in all sectors, including in the hospitality sector, meet their sustainability goals.
My Business Climate Challenge programme will support up to 250 SMEs, including those in hospitality, to reduce their energy consumption by 10% a year through tailored advice and support.
My Better Futures and Better Futures Plus programme have already supported over 130 London based SMEs this year towards their ‘Net Zero’ journeys.
The London Business Hub is providing up-to-date support and guidance to SMEs looking to decarbonise. It includes a dedicatedClimate sectionwhich includes hospitality sector-specific support, via its Climate Action Frameworks that help SMEs reduce emissions and build a business case for climate action.
London & Partners, my business growth and destination agency for London, are working closely with the tourism and hospitality sector to share knowledge and encourage take up of best practice in sustainability.

New Year’s Eve Fireworks and Businesses in Lambeth and Southwark

Marina Ahmad: Will businesses in the Waterloo area in my constituency, who welcome the New Year’s Eve fireworks display, be allocated free tickets for their customers as they have been previously? Customers of these local businesses have benefited from free tickets in the past to ensure local restaurants are not impacted by the restrictions placed on non-ticket holders visiting the area on New Year’s Eve.

The Mayor: Consultation with businesses and residents is currently taking place in the immediate and surrounding areas of the New Year’s Eve event, which includes the Waterloo area. This process will ensure residents have access to property and businesses can continue to operate. As part of this consultation, theNYEplanning team will be discussing the individual requirements of each business, including the facility to obtain tickets to ensure the businesses can offer their customers an opportunity to attend the New Year’s Eve event.

Police training on road danger reduction

Caroline Russell: What training in road danger reduction and Vision Zero do Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers receive? How does this training differ for officers who work in the Roads Transport Policing Command (RTPC) and those who work in other areas of the MPS?

The Mayor: Road Danger Reduction is a priority for the Road Traffic Police Command (RTPC).
All traffic officers, attend a 2 week course in which they become qualified to support Road Danger Reduction activity, including:
The Traffic Induction Course enables officers to enforce Excess Speed, Drug Drive detection, Drink & Drug Drive procedures in custody. It further equips them in identifying vehicles that may cause a danger on roads, by identifying stolen vehicles that have been altered to look like innocent vehicles, dangerous vehicles that are overloaded, and also the HOSTYDs to help bring pursuits to safe conclusions.
Traffic Management Officers (TMOs) have bespoke qualifications which allow them to support partners and stakeholders by assessing road safety and engineering factors that may be contributing to road danger.
All new Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) recruits participate in a Traffic module as part of their initial training and this is supplemented by additional inputs at Professional Development Days.
Roads policing teams also work in partnership with local Basic Command Units (BCU) officers to upskill their traffic knowledge, confidence and deployment on the roads. Vision Zero intelligence is shared with local units to enable both a proactive and reactive response to road death reduction. This can include, but is not limited to, disqualified and high harm offenders.

Met schools officers 3

Susan Hall: For each year Nov 2019 to Oct 2020, Nov 2020 to Oct 2021 and Nov 2021 to Oct 2022 how many stop and searches have been made by Met schools officers?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) advise me that it is not possible to provide this information. A police officer is identified via their warrant number, which does not change when they are posted elsewhere in the organisation. Therefore, to identify the number of stop and searches made by Safer Schools Officers would require individual searches of databases using each officer’s warrant number and to limit these searches to each individual officer’s time posted as a Safer Schools Officer.

Met Overtime 2

Susan Hall: For each year Nov 2019 to Oct 2020, Nov 2020 to Oct 2021 and Nov 2021 to Oct 2022 how much did the Met spend on overtime?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) spend on overtime by financial year is available within the published annual accounts at https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/mayors-office-policing-and-crime/about-mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/our-finances
From quarter 3 (Oct) 2019 each quarter the full year budget and forecasts of overtime spend is published, and since Q2 (July) 2021 the year to date overtime budget and spend is available in the Quarterly Performance Reports at https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-and-strategies/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/keep-date-mopac-work/mopac-publications

Small business support

Leonie Cooper: The next few months are going to be tough for many local businesses. What are you doing to help them in Merton and Wandsworth to survive and thrive?

The Mayor: My London Business Hub signposts to free services to help businesses at this challenging time. The Wayfinder project for small businesses wanting to access business support is being piloted in three boroughs including Wandsworth. To date 48 SMEs have been referred by the Wayfinder to a business support provider and received advice.
The London Business Hub’s physical advice venues provide bespoke business support through expert advisors to SMEs across all London boroughs; and has already supported 215 businesses in Merton and Wandsworth.
Finally, through London’s £144m share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, I have allocated funds for Merton and Wandsworth councils to support local businesses and regenerate communities. On top of that, I will invest UKSPF in projects across London that help to grow local businesses.

Business Energy Efficiency (2)

Tony Devenish: What more will you do to encourage and support businesses in London to be more energy efficient?

The Mayor: I am supporting up to 250 businesses through my Business Climate Challenge providing them access to no cost technical advice to reduce their energy consumption and bills. This includes a workplace audit, a tailored report with recommendations on energy conservation measures, trainings to upskill staff, and peer learning opportunities. In 2021 the average participants could reduce their energy consumption by 16%, saving up to £8,300.
I will also publish guidance and resources on the London Business Hub to provide energy efficiency and retrofit advice to the wider London business community.
Further, I am engaging with businesses and industry bodies to better understand the support required with their energy bills. I have already called on the Government to immediately freeze business energy prices for up to two years, increase small business rates relief and decrease business VAT rates to help support businesses through the current crises.

Alleviating in-work poverty in London (2)

Marina Ahmad: Have you carried out an assessment of the extent to which – within London’s low-paid sectors – employers paying higher pay or offering better terms and conditions see better business performance compared to those employers that do not?

The Mayor: Treating employees properly makes good business sense. My officers work closely with the Living Wage Foundation who collect data from accredited businesses on pay. These businesses report that Living Wage accreditation has enhanced their reputation as an employer, improved retention and reduced recruitment costs, increased staff motivation and wellbeing, and differentiated themselves from competitors.
The Making London a Living City Programme includes action strands which examine the impact of the living wage on business performance in specific low-pay sectors like the creative industries, hospitality and services, to help make the business case for more employers to accredit.
I have also embedded wider good employment principles in my Good Work Standard, Good Work Standard for Microbusinesses, and upcoming Charter for Good Work in the Gig Economy.

Solar Together contractor Green Energy Together (4)

Siân Berry: I regularly continue to receive emails from Londoners desperate to have their solar panels installed, worried about losing their deposits and complaining about a lack of responsiveness by Green Energy Together (GET-UK). Could you tell me what you have done to: a) improve customer service by GET-UK, b) speed up the installation process by GET-UK, and c) ensure that GET-UK has contacted all complainants?

The Mayor: To improve customer service the GLA has required a number of changes to the programme set out in MQ3284 and MQ3285. To monitor the impact the GLA required iChoosr to put an Installer Improvement Plan in place. This contains actions applicable to all installers as well as specific actions for each installer on Solar Together London. MQ3884 sets out the themes of these actions.
My officers meet iChoosr weekly. My senior officers and Deputy Mayor have also met iChoosr. We have escalated concerns, most recently to the global iChoosr Chief Executive.
MQ3883 sets out in more detail the external factors impacting upon the installation process for contractors.

Investment Zones (1)

Sakina Sheikh: What is your initial assessment of the idea of “Investment Zones” where planning laws would be relaxed?

The Mayor: The Government changed its position on Investment Zones in such a short space of time and we are seeking urgent clarification about how this will impact London.
The six Investment Zones I originally proposed to the Government could have collectively hosted over 2.6 million m2 of new commercial development, over 138,000 new jobs and over 80,000 new homes.
In London’s Expression of Interest, I advised the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities that I would not agree to an as-yet undefined streamlined planning regime, or proposals that would water down the London Plan’s objectives for the environment, affordable housing and the protection of Strategic Industrial Land.

Ward Officer Abstractions (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide the number of days per month Dedicated Ward Officers were abstracted by borough for the past 12 months.

The Mayor: Dedicated Ward Officer (DWO) abstraction data is provided in the London Datastore: Dedicated Ward Officer Abstractions - London Datastore.